Media Coverage of Elections: How Important Is a Candidate's Character?

"Maybe character should be an issue, but it should be about occurrences in the last few years, not decades." AR

". . . they (the media) should not drag up things that happened before the candidates were adults with a mature outlook." AL

"As far as I'm concerned, whatever candidates do before they run for a government position is their own business, but what they do while they are in office is our business." SD

"We must take everything we hear about the candidates' lives in stride, because we may never know the truth of the matter. Candidates should be judged on merit, not on character. 'Character is something that evolves. It isn't static.' " PA

"Public office is not a question of moral character, it is a question of ability and that is what the press should pay attention to; ability." SD

"While most journalists believe character background is important in a candidate, they also believe that a line must be drawn between what is reasonable character background, and what is extraneous information, or even slander." MD

"The media's coverage should reflect the issues and objective information, without opinion interjected. . . some background on candidates is necessary because it shows their character. Prying and digging into someone's past is taking coverage a little too far." OK

"If there were some kind of laws, perhaps with stiff penalties, governing this matter, maybe potential stories would be forgotten instead of published." MI

"Sometimes, a legitimate connection can be drawn between a politician's private life and his public position." PA

"Why doesn't the media find that important (Clinton's alleged affair). Why? Because Clinton and other products of the 60s generation were part of the 60s sexual revolution where marriage fidelity was not emphasized. If a man cannot even be truthful to his wife, why would he be truthful to his country? A liar is a liar." KY

"The media is spurred on by the public's apparent need for a personal relationship with the candidate. Voters must continuously know where a candidate is and what he is doing during a campaign as secrecy and privacy are seen as inappropriate. In our poll, barely half of those polled said that the personal lives of candidates did not affect their opinion. Personal presentation by the candidate is a very important factor. Over 80% said that how a candidate behaves and controls himself affects their opinion." VA

"If a man can't be loyal to his own wife and family, how can he be loyal and honest enough to run our country? This fact really bothered me, and it still does." OH

"If reports on marital infideltites are true and properly documented, then they are important in judging the character of the candidate. This should also be the case with other reports that question the candidate's trustworthiness and integrity. The media is responsible in bringing the character issue to the attention of the American voters. Media coverage of the 1992 election did not put much emphasis on the character issue which deserves equal presentation and analysis." CA

"It is part of the media's job to fill in facts and questions about a candidate that he may not want known, because the way a person lives his life indicates his depth of character." OH

"The media supporters claim that reporters should investigate the honesty of the candidates. This relates to their ability to properly perform their duty for the voters." MA

". . . the Gennifer Flower-Bill Clinton story. . . can be seen in bad taste; it also can be seen as a report on character, an important factor in choosing a candidate." OK

"The personal lives of the candidates do make a difference. The best indicator of future behavior is that of the past." NE

"Instead of focusing on the more important issues relevant to today's world, the media dwelt on an event which occurred twenty-five years ago during the candidate's youth. Yet, there are those who argued that this (avoiding the draft) was an indication of Clinton's patriotism, loyalty, and character--all important in a Presidential candidate--so the media had a right, or even an obligation, to report it." OH

"Even though they may go to extremes, the media must be nosy. If not, then the people may never find out the truth about a candidate. Real stories break as a result of the media's aggressiveness." MA

"While most would agree that focusing on the issues is important, some go so far as to say that it's the only thing to consider. They are of the opinion that the media has no business prying into the personal matters of political candidates. They believe that the right to privacy is clearly being violated. Besides, no one's perfect, why should we expect our politicians to be? As long as they are qualified for the job, their personal life should have no bearing on whether or not they win the election.

I happen to disagree with the argument above. I think it is quite important that the American people know what kind of men or women they're voting for. This surely does not mean that the candidate has (to sacrifice) all privacy. However, it does mean that they cannot expect to have extra-marital relationships without the press reporting the story to the nation. Gary Hart found this out in 1988 and dropped out of the presidential face. Some might find this unfair but I believe we must remember what positions these people are running for. Being the president of the United States means (being) the leader of a huge mass of people (with) the potential to do an unbelievable amount of good or bad, much depending of course on the Congress, who also should by no means be exempt from the media's attention. I believe the personal life of a candidate does indeed give us a very good indication of how he/she will perform in office. Can we expect a president who can't keep his promise to his 'beloved' wife to keep his many promises to an entire nation? Can we expect a Congress who consistently writes bad checks of their own to be able to handle the federal deficit? The answer is obvious.

Don't get me wrong. A person is capable of changing. Thus, it is important that the media is careful in deciding the amount of time spent covering the candidate's personal life, leaving the choice of whether to forgive and forget up to the people." SD

"The media should just present the public with the candidates' views on important issues, and leave their personal lives and past out of it." MA

"The media should stay out of the personal live of all candidates, and look at them in a purely professional way." IN

"It is truly a sad state of affairs when an entire country becomes so desensitized that we push the media to dig into personal lives, the part that should be kept private." IL

"A president doesn't have to talk about his sex life, marital problems, childhood, or any other personal details to inform the public of the way he'll perform as president." PA

"Privacy for candidates should stop where wealth and health begin; nobody should test personal morality as a condition of employment." SD

"I believe that people or candidates who want to gain the public's trust should be willing to give up their privacy on matters of money and illness but that is as far as it should go." TN

"If the person is a drug addict or an ax murderer that is on thing, but truthfully how relevant is a candidate's past to his future in office? Will we keep choosing our officials this way until we end up with some perfect unflawed stiff in office with no idea of how to run the country?" IL

"A politician making a decision of whether to run for an office, must make certain that he has never missed a car payment or looked at a neighbor wrong. Pointing out all the bad points in another person in an attempt to place one's self higher up on the success ladder is considered a turn-off in society. The idea that if I can make him look really bad, I will seem even better, seems to be dominating much of the campaigning. Media needs to make an effort to stop coverage of downgrading remarks, and present only the facts." SD

"The media says that the people have a right to know about the character of the person, but character is just a term that serves as a blanket justification for all media excess." PA

"I was watching 60 Minutes one evening when they were interviewing Bill Clinton. Instead of asking him anything worthwhile, they asked him about his alleged affair with Gennifer Flowers. The interviewers wanted to know if it had happened or not. I don't believe it did, but even so, it's irrelevant. If I had the chance to be on that show, I would be mad if I couldn't talk about my positions on important issues. They practically beat the subject to death trying to milk him for details about an affair that probably didn't happen and if it did, why would he want to sit on national TV and admit to the world and humiliate his wife?" TX

"Television news broadcasts should concentrate more on candidates' achievements and ambitions rather than their personal life as a teenager and the complications in their marriages." NY